Butterfly Parts
by flying at tree level
Summary: All she wanted was to feel pretty and special like the other girls at school. And he was just looking for an escape from what he perceived as the mundane realities of his future. Now both of them won't be able to keep their secrets for long. / Cat and Beck have a secret affair during their senior year at Hollywood Arts. Mostly Cat-centric fic. Possible minor Jori.
1. Chapter 1

_It's six months into the school year when the truth finally comes out. It's a seemingly normal day and for Jade it's actually been a better day than the days she's had lately. Though things are still slightly off between Beck and her, they've been getting along really well today...maybe too well. It almost felt too good to be true._

 _Everyone's in the main auditorium doing a rehearsal for one of Sikowitz's plays, and everything's going along as one would expect. Tori, Andre and Jade are practicing running through their lines together at one end of the room, and throughout the auditorium other kids in the play are doing the same. At the opposite end of the room Beck is by himself reading through his lines because he prefers to be alone while he tries to get into character. And Cat, who's been put in charge of costumes, can't seem to make herself get any real work done. She's in one of her overly hyper moods and rather than conducting her fittings like she's supposed to, she's trying on all of the costumes and bouncing around the auditorium every few minutes to show Beck all of her different looks. This type of odd behavior wasn't exactly out of the ordinary for Cat. The odd thing was that instead of asking her to go away and let him rehearse in peace like he probably wanted to, Beck was indulging her and playing along with her antics. Every time she'd approach him he'd just smile along and pretend like she really was the characters she dressed up as._

 _Jade watched them from across the room and rolled her eyes. Beck was way too nice sometimes. Why didn't he just tell the little ditz to quit bugging him?_

 _Currently the unnatural redhead was sporting a long curly white wig adorned with tiny purple flowers and a big poofy dress styled straight out of the 1800s. She approached Beck twirling the end of the wig around her finger. "Guess who…." she sing-songed._

 _Beck looked up at her and smiled. But he pretended to be puzzled for a moment. "Umm let me see... George Washington? No...Thomas Jefferson?"_

 _Cat sighed impatiently. "No silly! I'm Marie Antoinette."_

 _Beck grinned at his friend. "Ah of course." He stood up and knelt down on one knee. "I must say your highness, thou art the fairest maiden this lowly serf hath ever laid eyes upon."_

 _Cat giggled. "Why thank you kind smurf."_

 _Jade watched as Sikowitz approached the pair, presumably to tell them to stop goofing off and get back to work. Cat pouted but then traipsed her way backstage to change back into her regular clothes and get back to taking people's measurements. Beck sat back down and started reading through his script again._

 _Jade turned her attention back to Andre and Tori who'd been staring at her because while she'd been watching her boyfriend, apparently it was her character's turn to speak._

" _Um hello...earth to Jade?" Tori said, waving her hand in her face._

 _The goth girl flinched and blinked. She didn't know why she'd just let herself get so preoccupied watching Beck and Cat... Really it was Beck's actions she was trying to make sense of. He'd been acting really strange lately. All moody and distant all the time and the only time he seemed to smile was when he was playing along with Cat's stupid antics._

"Can _we take five? I need a drink of water," Jade said. Andre shrugged and went to go talk to Beck, but Tori followed Jade out into the hallway to her locker._

" _Hey is everything alright?" Tori asked._

 _Jade took a sip of her water and turned around, slamming her locker shut. "Yeah I'm fine. Great actually. In fact this is the best I've felt in a while."_

" _Really?" Tori said, skeptical._

" _Yup."_

" _Oh so you mean you're finally gonna quit stealing your dad's cigarettes? And you're actually gonna get some sleep tonight and not have to overload yourself with caffeine just to make it through tomorrow?"_

" _Jesus what are you my mother?" Jade grit out._

" _No. I'm just a concerned friend," Tori stated._

 _Jade sighed. She was beginning to regret letting Tori think they were friends. But there were certain things she couldn't always confide in Beck about and at times she'd find herself desperate enough to turn to Tori._

" _Well if you're really concerned and you want to help you'll quit being such a buttinski."_

 _Tori's jaw dropped, clearly offended by her comment. "I am not a buttinski!" she exclaimed following Jade back into the auditorium._

" _Yeah you kinda are," Jade scoffed._

" _I am not!" Tori insisted._

" _Well you do have a habit of butting into people's problems and making them your own," Robbie said, appearing out of nowhere._

 _Tori narrowed her eyes at him. "Who even asked you Shapiro?"_

 _Jade smirked. "Kid's kinda got a point doesn't he?"_

" _Ughh whatever. Look I'm just trying to make sure you're okay. After what happened between you and Beck you seemed pretty upset..."_

" _Everything's fine," Jade said, cutting her off. She didn't want to talk about her and Beck. "It was all a misunderstanding. Beck and I are good now."_

" _Really? So what happened?"_

" _Nothing. We just made up," Jade said, shrugging nonchalantly. Though inside she was happy and relieved thinking about it. Everything that happened earlier today was a sign their relationship was finally getting back on track. This morning Beck had brought her coffee without her even having to ask him to. And after third period they'd spent almost twenty minutes making out in the janitor's closet, something they used to do sophomore year when they first started dating._

" _Well that was fast. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You guys' relationship has always been so solid I should've known you couldn't stay apart for long..."_

 _ **Yep that's us**_ _, Jade thought._ _ **Hollywood Arts' most reliable couple**_ _._

 _Further conversation between the two girls was interrupted by what started out as a low rumbling coming from the floor. Jade and Tori exchanged glances as the rumbling got louder and stronger, shaking the floor beneath them. It took everyone a moment to realize what was happening because it was so sudden. But then everything around them started to shake and it became clear what was happening. One kid from across the room screamed out the obvious: "EARTHQUAKE!"_

 _Sikowitz emerged from backstage. "Alright students, everyone remain calm. We're all gonna be fine because we all know the standard earthquake emergency procedure."_

" _Uh no we don't. You never went over that with us," Tori pointed out. "What do we do?!"_

" _Take cover and duck!" were the only instructions they were given by their teacher. Jade sighed and grabbed Tori by the wrist, pulling her underneath the nearest prop table. They both crouched down and covered their heads._

 _Jade quickly scanned the room looking for Beck to make sure he was safe. Even though she knew he most likely would be, since out of everyone in their group he'd always been the best in a crisis. But the fact that she couldn't see where he was troubled her. Especially since this earthquake appeared to be one of the more dangerous ones they'd experienced living in California. Fixtures in the auditorium were actually falling to the ground from the impact._

 _Cat, who had been off in her own little world backstage, realized too late what was happening. When she stepped out into the auditorium, light fixtures started falling to the ground all around her. The red-headed girl froze in shock as glass fell beside her, inches away from hitting her. "Cat get away from there!" Tori shouted, but the girl wouldn't move. She was too scared. She just crouched down and covered her head and shut her eyes._

 _And then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over. Once the ground stopped moving the students slowly began emerging from their hiding places. Cat stayed frozen in place still too shocked from the fact that she'd almost been seriously injured to move from her spot._

" _Jesus Cat are you alright?" Tori asked, approaching her friend. But she froze when she saw all the broken glass around her. It was a miracle she hadn't been hurt._

 _Cat didn't say anything. But she opened her eyes and realized everyone was looking at her. Sikowitz came over and took her hand and helped her carefully step over all the glass._

" _Cat we should probably get you to the nurse to make sure you're okay. Does anybody else need medical attention?" The teacher asked, and he looked around the room to make sure everyone was unharmed and accounted for. When he realized everyone was okay and at the most, just a little shaken up, he turned back to Cat. But the girl had completely ignored his suggestion to go to the nurse's office. She sniffled and ran over to Beck and wrapped her arms around him. The small girl buried her face in his chest and started to cry. Beck seemed a little caught off guard by the gesture, because unlike Cat, he was completely aware of all the eyes that were on them._

 _Across the room Jade froze staring at the two of them. It wasn't exactly odd for Cat to look to Beck for support when she was scared, because he'd always looked after her in that way. He'd always treated Cat like a little sister. But something about the sight in front of her didn't look so innocent. Maybe it was the fact that Cat had changed so much within the last six months. She'd definitely adopted a more "adult" style of dress, and now she was standing there with her mini skirt and her hooker heels, pressing up against_ _ **Jade's**_ _boyfriend. But Beck's reaction to it was probably the most telling. He looked awkward, and it seemed it wasn't necessarily because the small girl was hugging him, but because she was doing it front of everyone. Jade watched him as he slowly rubbed her on the back, trying to soothe her but still make sure things looked completely platonic between them. Then he leaned down and whispered something in Cat's ear. Jade raised an eyebrow. Whatever it was it must have been the right thing to say because Cat pulled back from his chest and smiled at him. Beck smiled back at her seeing that he'd gotten her to stop crying. But then he looked over at Jade and his smile fell when he realized she'd been watching them the whole time. He slowly pulled away from Cat and went back to being an awkward statue. Jade could hear him telling Cat to go ahead to the nurse to get herself checked out. Cat wiped her tears with the palms of her hands and left the auditorium._

 _Beck quickly walked over to Jade. "Hey are you alright?"_

" _Y-yeah I'm fine," she said, her words coming out shakier than she wanted them to._

" _You sure?" he asked, looking her in the eyes. "You look a little shaken up."_

" _I'm okay Beck. It's not like I've never been through an earthquake before. I've lived in California since I was two."_

 _"Well it's one thing I don't think I'll ever get used to about living here… We don't get them like this in the great white north," he joked. Jade just rolled her eyes at him. She was annoyed that he was trying to act like everything was normal when it clearly wasn't. Everything had become so obvious to her in the previous moments._

" _Please tell me more about what it was like growing up in your boring little Canadian hometown," she said, dryly._

 _As usual, Beck seemed unfazed by her sarcasm. "Why don't we get outta here in a bit and I tell you all about it. We can go to that hipster tea lounge you like so much?" he said, wrapping an arm around her waist._

 _Jade sighed. Beck trying so hard to be nice just irritated her even more, because now she knew why he was doing it and why he seemed to be trying so hard to get their relationship back on track these past few days. It was all to distract her from seeing the truth that had been right in front of her eyes the entire time. She was just too blind to see it._

 _But a part of Jade wondered if maybe she was jumping to conclusions too fast. She couldn't just outright accuse Beck of cheating on her with one of her closest friends. She really wanted to believe that she had just been misinterpreting things, but she needed to know for sure. And she realized that in order to find out the truth she was gonna have to act like everything was normal. If she kept acting so suspicious of him Beck would try even harder to cover his tracks. "Alright fine. Let's go."_

 _The earthquake pretty much meant that rehearsals were done for the day. So the couple left the auditorium together. They stopped at their lockers to get their belongings and then headed for the exit. But Beck stopped before they made it through the door. "What's wrong? Did you forget something?" Jade asked._

" _Uh, no. I was thinking... maybe we should check on Cat before we go?"_

 _Jade glared at him. "Why…?"_

" _Because she's our friend and she almost got hurt?"_

" _Oh come on. That glass missed her by like three whole inches."_

 _Beck placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jade relax. It'll only take a second. Then we can go. Okay?"_

 _Jade sighed. But then she thought about it for a moment and realized this could be a good thing. "Alright fine. But you go on ahead. I'll wait for you outside in the car."_

" _Are you sure?"_

 _She nodded. "Yeah take your time. I'll be in the car when you're ready."_

" _Okay," he said. And he handed her his car keys._

 _The couple parted ways and Jade waited a few moments before she followed him back inside the building. She knew one way to find out the truth would be to watch and see how they acted when they were by themselves. She paused at the corner outside of the hallway where the nurse's office was when she heard two people talking. She peeked around the corner and saw that it was Beck and Cat._

 _"You don't have to worry about me. I'm okay Beck. I didn't even get hurt," Cat was saying._

 _"Well what did the nurse say?" he asked her._

 _Cat shrugged. "I told her I was just a little scared after what happened so she gave me a cup of water and let me lie down for a few minutes."_

 _"Okay. Well do you need a ride home? I can drop you off before me and Jade go out?"_

 _Cat smiled. "I already called my mom and she's coming to pick me up. But thanks for offering...and for caring so much."_

 _Jade swallowed hard. She already didn't like where this was going. She knew how Cat acted when she was flirting with someone. She'd bat her eyelashes at him and start playing with the hem of her skirt. These were all tell signs of behavior she exhibited whenever she was around a boy she really liked and right now she was doing all of those things._

 _"Cat just because we agreed to stop...doing what we were doing...doesn't mean I'd stop caring about you," Beck told her carefully._

 _Jade felt her heart stop. What the hell was he talking about and why was he standing so close to her? She watched him put his hand on her face, gently brushing her hair back and she watched Cat's face light up. Jade's eyes widened as Beck actually leaned into her, way too close to be considered normal. He spoke in a low voice, almost too quiet for her to hear but she was able to make out his words._ _"Remember what I told you back there?_ _I meant it and that's not gonna change. No matter what happens with me and Jade okay?"_

 _The small girl nodded. Jade saw minor hesitation in Cat's eyes at the mention of her name. But clearly remembering she and Jade were supposed to be friends wasn't enough to counteract the allure of kissing her too-perfect-wanted-by-every-girl-in-school boyfriend. When Beck leaned in to kiss her she certainly didn't move away._

 _Jade slowly backed away from the scene in front of her. A huge lump formed in her throat and tears pricked her eyes. She felt anger and confusion at what she'd just seen, and a million questions were running through her mind. What had Beck said to her in the auditorium after the earthquake? What exactly had they agreed to 'stop' doing and how long had it been going on? How far had they taken things? Beck had always told her that she was the love of his life and that he'd never felt about another girl the way he felt about Jade. Did this mean that he felt the same way about Cat? Had everything he'd ever told her been a lie?_

 _She knew she could've just barged into the hallway and caught them red-handed in the middle of their little affair, but Jade wasn't ready to confront them just yet. Before she did that she wanted to know the complete and honest truth of how and why this happened, from the very beginning. And she knew she'd never be able to trust a word that came out of Cat or Beck's mouth ever again. So she'd just have to find out the truth another way._

 _On her way out of the building she passed Cat's locker and a thought popped into her mind. She and at least three other people knew Cat's locker combination because the ditzy girl could never quite remember it on her own. All Jade had to do was go into her locker and find that stupid journal she was always writing in. She knew that Cat couldn't keep a secret to save her life. But a secret like this she would have no choice but to hide it, so her journal would be the only place she'd really be able to spill her guts. When she opened Cat's locker, just as she suspected the journal was sitting right there in plain view. Jade grabbed it and shut the locker, and quickly left the building before Beck could catch up with her._

 _She took Beck's car, knowing that he was gonna be pissed when he went outside and found out that it and she were both gone, but she didn't care. Her mind was on overdrive with only one goal in mind. She started driving and didn't stop until she knew she was far enough away that she wouldn't be found. She ended up at a park one town over. By then Beck had probably realized she'd disappeared with his car because he started calling her cell phone._

 _Jade rolled her eyes, ignoring all of his messages. She shut off her phone and tossed it in the passenger seat. Then she grabbed Cat's journal and walked through the park until she found a secluded tree she could sit under. She sat down and started to read._

 _She wanted to know everything that happened, starting from the beginning._


	2. Chapter 2

It started two weeks ago when Cat first saw the flyer posted in the hallway advertising the first ever Miss Hollywood Arts Pageant at their school. Her heart fluttered in excitement at the notion of winning a beauty pageant. The first thing she did, after signing herself up of course, was run to tell her friends.

Upon discussing it with the three other girls in her circle of friends, she discovered that Trina of course already knew about the pageant and had already signed herself up. Jade thought that pageants were stupid and sexist and she wouldn't be caught dead competing in one. And Tori seemed to have a slightly similar mindset, but Cat was able to convince her to sign up after bombarding her with a mountain of "pretty pleases" and giving her best puppy dog face.

And once the boys found out about the pageant they thought it would be a funny idea to sign Jade up as a joke. Beck had warned them against it but Robbie and Andre went ahead and did it anyway. Jade of course did not react pleasantly to that at all. Once she found out she'd chased them around school with her biggest pair of scissors, and when she couldn't catch up to them she'd settled for slashing the tires on their bikes instead. But to everyones surprise she ended up agreeing to compete in the pageant anyway and no one really understood why. Most suspected it was to prove some kind of point but more than likely it was just to troll the judges. Regardless, that's how the four girls ended up backstage after school doing rehearsals, trying on gowns and make up, and practicing for the different portions of the competition.

Everyone knew the talent portion of the competition would probably be the trickiest of all because given the fact that Hollywood Arts was a performing arts school, the contestants weren't exactly lacking in the talent department. So that meant that everyone would have to get creative if they wanted to stand out to the judges. Jade came up with the idea of doing a magic trick for her special talent that involved stuffing Robbie inside a box with a bunch of giant knives and it was sure to disturb anyone who saw it (but Cat supposed that was the whole point). And Trina was gonna perform a rewritten excerpt from her one woman show (which was sure to be equally disturbing). Even though it was predictable, Tori was gonna stick to what she knew best and do a song and dance number. And Cat made sure to incorporate a little bit of everything into her routine: singing, dancing, acting and lots of special effects.

The pageant was now a day away and everyone was putting on the finishing touches, getting ready for the big day. Cat was giddy with excitement as she tried on her dress for the evening gown portion. It was magenta pink with a lacy bodice and a flared bottom that she loved to twirl in. She paused mid-twirl when there was a knock on her dressing room door. When she opened the door Tori was standing there in her own silky green number. "Oh my gosh! Tori you look so pretty!" The petite redhead exclaimed.

"Thanks. So do you!"

"I'm so excited for tomorrow. Aren't you excited?"

"Um yeah. I guess I kinda am now that the day is almost here. I'm actually a little nervous," Tori laughed.

Cat smiled. "Yeah me too..." Cat was mostly worried about the question and answer portion. She knew she could be a bit spacey sometimes and she had a tendency to blurt out the first thing that came to mind, no matter how outrageous. Especially when she was nervous. She just hoped she wouldn't accidentally say something too bizarre.

"Well don't worry, I'm sure we're both gonna do fine tomorrow. And if we don't win who cares. It's just some silly pageant."

Cat nodded in agreement. But to her it wasn't just some silly pageant. She'd been working so hard for the past two weeks and she really wanted to win. "So where's Jade and Trina? Are they still trying on their dresses?"

Tori shrugged. "I don't know. Let's go find out."

The girls walked down the corridors to the other dressing rooms. They stopped at Jade's door first and knocked. "What do you want?" The dark-haired girl growled from the other side of the door.

"Um, Jade it's me and Tori. Can we come in?" Cat replied.

"Oh," she said, relaxing her tone slightly. "Yeah come in."

When they opened the door both girls were slightly taken aback by the goth girl's appearance. The dress she was wearing was black, sparkly and short...very short. And it left little to the imagination in the cleavage department. Jade smirked as Tori and Cat's jaws dropped to the floor. "Well what do you think girls?"

"Whoa.." was all Tori said.

"Um Jade you know you can't wear that for the evening gown portion right? It's against the rules. You're gonna lose like a lot of points," Cat said.

Jade rolled her eyes like she always did when Cat said something stupid. "Well duh. That's the point Einstein." Jade had made it perfectly clear that she had no intentions of actually winning the pageant. She just wanted to make a spectacle of herself and piss off the judges. "I'm just trying to make a statement."

"And what statement would that be?" Tori asked.

"That I'm totally hot and I don't care what anyone thinks," she said shrugging. "Besides, Beck is gonna die when he sees me in this dress."

"I think every male in the audience is gonna die when they see you in that dress...maybe even a few girls," Tori said.

Cat giggled and Jade grinned in satisfaction at the compliment.

"Hey I wonder how Trina's doing. Should we go check on her?" Cat asked.

Tori groaned. "Ugh. Do we have to?"

Speaking of whom, right after they'd mentioned her name the loud-mouthed girl could be heard down the hall whining. "TORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! TORI VEGA GET DOWN HERE NOW."

Tori rolled her eyes but headed down the hall to find Trina. And the two other girls followed behind her to see what was sure to be an entertaining confrontation. "Okay I'm here. What do you want?" Tori asked her older sibling.

"You need to get changed right now," Trina said.

"Why?"

"Because you have to go shopping," the older girl said, handing her a piece of paper.

Tori stared at it. "What is this?"

"That's a list of everything I need for the pageant tomorrow."

Tori scrunched her nose as she scanned the page. "You have got to be kidding me... Sliced cucumber...cotton balls...vaseline...duct tape? What could you possibly need duct tape for?"

"To make her boobs look bigger?" Cat blurted out. And everyone turned to stare at her.

Trina just shrugged and nodded. "Well yeah."

Cat smiled at saying something right for once.

"Well I don't care what you need it for. You can go shopping for your own crap," Tori said, handing her back the piece of paper.

"I can't," Trina whined. "I have to stay here and practice for my performance. Pleaaaaaaaaaseeeeeee Toriiiii."

"No way! I'm not doing it."

Trina groaned in frustration. Then she stormed across the room over to where her purse was sitting on the table. She pulled out her wallet and handed Tori a bunch of money. "Here's 40 bucks. Get everything on my shopping list and whatever money is left over afterwards you can keep it."

Tori considered it for a moment. Then she nodded. "All right fine I'll do it. It's not like I care about this stupid pageant anyway. Later guys," she said, and she left to go get changed.

Eventually Cat and Jade left to go get changed back into their regular clothes as well since they were done rehearsing for the day. Cat met up with Jade while she was outside waiting for Beck to pick her up. "So Jade...are you and Beck gonna hang out tonight?"

The dark-haired girl nodded. "Yup. Just like we do every night..."

"Oh. What are you guys gonna do?"

She shrugged. "Probably just hang out in his RV. Play a few board games."

Cat smiled. "Ooooh! That sounds like fun. Can I come?" She didn't really have any plans for later that night and she was still giddy with her excitement over the pageant tomorrow. She didn't feel like just going home and doing nothing.

"Um not tonight Cat. Beck and I need a little alone time if you know what I mean," she said and she smiled.

Cat blushed, realizing that "play board games" was clearly a euphemism for something else. "Oh. Well that's okay. Maybe some other time. I'll just see what Robbie and Andre are up to."

"Yeah you do that..." Jade said.

After Jade left Cat texted Robbie and Andre. A few minutes later Andre texted her back saying he couldn't hang out tonight because his grandma was having another anxiety attack; she'd thought the lights coming from the TV were from space aliens trying to abduct her and now she'd locked herself in the closet and she wouldn't come out. Robbie texted her back saying that he and Rex were gonna meet up with some North Ridge girls and she was more than welcome to tag along. Cat shuddered at the thought of that. She texted him back 'no thanks.'

She realized she'd be stuck bored at home that night. But maybe it was a good thing because it'd give her more time to practice for the pageant tomorrow. She already had her performance nailed down pat from every dance move to every song line so it was really only the question/answer portion she needed to practice for. As soon as she got home she fixed herself a snack, and then she went up to her room to practice giving answers to a list of typical pageant questions she'd found on the internet. She paced the floors of her bedroom, reciting what she deemed would be acceptable answers until she had them committed to memory. At around 7pm she was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in!" Cat said.

The door opened and Cat's mother, Olivia Valentine walked in. "Caterina dear, what have I told you about talking to yourself?"

"Mom I wasn't.."

"Then what is all this jibber jabber I've been hearing? And don't blame it on your imaginary friends this time."

Cat blushed. She'd only done that one time when she'd almost got caught being on the phone after midnight and she didn't want to get in trouble. She'd gotten rid of all of her imaginary friends a long time ago...

"I was just practicing my answers for the pageant tomorrow. You and dad are coming right? Remember it starts at five-thirty."

Olivia frowned and Cat knew what that look meant. "Sweetheart...your father has to catch a flight in the morning."

"He's leaving for work _again_? But he just got back three days ago."

"Cat you know how important your father's job is. It's what pays for this nice house.. all of mommy's fancy shoes.. your brother's therapy...all those singing and dancing lessons we got you when you were younger..."

"I know but-"

"No buts young lady. I don't want you bothering your father with this. He's under enough pressure as it is," she said, walking over to pick up Cat's laundry basket.

Cat sighed. She didn't understand why all of a sudden her dad had to leave all the time. It didn't used to be like this, but as of lately it seemed like every other week he needed to catch a flight for some reason or another. Cat thought it was strange but any time she questioned it her mother would get mad at her or change the subject.

The young girl followed her mother into laundry room. "Well what about you? Can you come tomorrow? Pretty please mom?"

"Tomorrow I have to drive all the way out to San Diego for your brother's appointment with his new special doctor. I'll try to make it but you know how these things go," Olivia said. Cat frowned and pouted, knowing that meant that more than likely she wasn't going to come. Her mother looked at her daughter's sad face and sighed. "I promise I'll come to the next one kitten. I'm sure you'll still have fun. All your little friends will be there won't they?"

Still visibly upset, Cat nodded, but she felt herself cheer up a bit at the thought of that. She always felt very lucky to be a part of such a solid group of friends like hers. Whenever her parents let her down she knew she could at least count on them.

"Alright now why don't you and your brother get washed up for dinner while I finish doing laundry, and meet me downstairs in the dining room in half an hour?"

"Okay mom." Cat smiled and scampered along to do what she was told.

Dinner went by as usual. Her father's chair sat empty and her mother popped various painkillers to deal with her brother's random outbursts. All the while Cat was able to sit at the table in her own little world tuning everything out. She went through her songs in her head and mentally practiced everything she would say during the pageant tomorrow. She just wanted everything to be perfect.


	3. Chapter 3

When the night of the pageant finally came Cat was definitely excited and more than a little bit nervous. Her, Trina, Jade and Tori were all backstage while the boys were waiting in the audience. Cat was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, which thankfully was one thing she was really good at. She lightly dusted her cheeks with blush and added some glitter over top of her eyeshadow. Then she put on a final coat of lip gloss and rubbed her lips together. She looked in the mirror and smiled, seeing how nice her make up had come out.

Through the reflection of the mirror she could see Jade sitting at her own vanity mirror behind her, probably working on her own make up. She thought about walking over to say hi, but then she saw Beck appear into view, coming up behind Jade to surprise her. He walked up and put his arms around her from behind and whispered something in her ear that made her smile. She turned around to kiss him. Cat quickly looked away from the obviously intimate moment between the two of them. As a couple Beck and Jade weren't exactly prone to PDA. Though they always made it perfectly clear to everyone that they belonged to each other, moments like these were rare to be seen by other people, and Cat knew that they preferred it that way and that's why she looked away. She thought it was kind of sweet how they'd been together all these years now and they were still going strong. Aside from a few minor hiccups.

Cat diverted her attention away from the couple to focus on preparing herself. While she felt the same pre-show jitters she always felt before being on stage, she wasn't too nervous because this wasn't her first pageant. Her mom had signed her up for plenty of them when she was younger, and she knew all of the tricks and all of the things the judges would be looking for. She knew she was supposed to smile always (which wouldn't be a problem for her because she loved smiling), and that maintaining her posture was very important. She knew she'd have to know how to walk in heels and pose, and she was expected to be charming and poised. Cat was confident that she could do all of those things. She just hoped that when it came time for her turn for the question and answer she wouldn't get too nervous.

Sikowitz had gotten the gig emceeing the event so just as expected, his delivery was filled with lots of strange and slightly inappropriate jokes. The first category of the pageant was the introduction, which was fairly simple. All the girls had to do was walk out on stage wearing a casual daytime outfit and introduce themselves. For that category Cat wore her black and white polka dotted dress with her Mary Jane heels and she went out on stage, smiling as happy and perky as ever. All she had to do was say her name, what grade she was in, and why she decided to join the pageant. It was fairly easy.

After that was the evening gown portion, which was quite the spectacle thanks to Jade, who stood out like a sore thumb in her tiny cocktail dress. Lucky for her it was too early in the competition for her to get eliminated. When it was Cat's turn she walked out in her pretty magenta gown and gave her best pageant girl performance. She made sure to smile and wink at the judges, and she twirled a few times so everyone could see how flowy and princessy her dress was. While she was on stage she could see Beck and Andre standing in the back of the audience cheering for her. She smiled and gave a quick wave to her friends, before hurrying back stage.

The talent competition was the most anticipated event of the night. The lineup had Jade arranged to go first, then Trina, then Cat, and then Tori would go last. As the moments got closer Cat felt herself getting more and more nervous as she watched her friends and the other performers backstage. Some of the girls gave really good performances.

But Jade's talent ended up being very scary and freaking everyone out. She'd gotten Robbie to agree to being tied up and lie down inside a box where only his arms and his head were exposed. Jade then brought out a case of six very large knives and began to slowly plunge each one into the box while Robbie was still inside. This brought about lots of nervous "ooohs" and "ahhs" from the audience, but the whole time Robbie appeared to be just fine. But then when she jabbed her last knife into the box, to everyone's shock, Robbie let out a blood curdling scream and all of a sudden lots of blood started dripping from out of the box. Everyone in the audience gasped and a few people screamed. Some of the more squeamish viewers even ran out of the room and one of the judges looked like he was about to lose his dinner. Even Tori, Beck, Andre and the rest of the gang were shocked because no one was expecting this to be a part of her "magic trick". She purposely hadn't let anyone in on the prank she was pulling.

But once she realized she'd sufficiently terrified everyone, Jade opened the box and the scrawny, curly-haired boy got out and stood up with his arms spread out showing everyone that he was okay. Though everyone was relieved, no one looked amused. Except Jade of course. Her performance was met with very scattered applause from only a few audience members, including a standing ovation from Sinjin VanCleef and a few goth kids.

Trina was up next and unfortunately Cat and the other girls could hear everything while they were backstage getting ready. She'd apparently decided to do a slowed-down, accapella version of her song "Chicago" that really wasn't doing her any favors.

Backstage the rest of the girls were trying to get themselves ready but Trina's wailing made it difficult to concentrate.

"God how has Trina Vega gone her entire life without anyone telling her that she cannot sing?" One of the pageant girls remarked.

"Trust me we've tried," Tori said, and she sighed.

Cat giggled. "Hey Tori can you help me touch up my make up?"

"Sure," Tori said. She sat down beside her and picked up a make up brush. "So you're up next Little Miss Valentine. Are you nervous at all?"

"I don't know. Maybe a little..."

Tori smiled reassuringly at her. "Cat you of all people have nothing to be nervous about. I'm the one who should be nervous. You're a much better singer than I am."

Cat smiled at the compliment. "Well you're a better dancer than me," she pointed out.

"Still you've got this in the bag okay? You're the one with all the pageant experience. You're the one whose putting your heart and soul into this. I'm just along for the ride. Remember that."

Cat nodded. "Okay," she said. Tori finished her makeup just in time for her to hear Sikowitz calling her out to the stage. The brunette wished her luck one last time and then she hurried out to the stage.

And it was strange but as soon as Cat got to the stage all of her butterflies and nervousness disappeared. Being on stage in front of a hundred people was actually one of the few places where she felt truly comfortable with herself. Even as the lights dimmed and the spotlight shown down on her, she felt more happy and at peace than anything. She took a deep breath before she began her monologue, which was from a play she did when she was younger, about a young girl who runs away from home and ends up lost in the woods. Then she began her song, which started off as a slow, melancholy ballad, but during the second half of the song the tune picked up speed and her performance became more upbeat. Cat really wished her parents could have been there to see her perform because the crowd really seemed to love it. Maybe they were just happy to see someone who could actually sing after being forced to suffer through Trina's performance, but Cat likes to think it was her they were really excited to see.

She'd gotten Sinjin to help with her lighting and special effects to jazz up the second half of her performance. The lighting changed from a solo spotlight to multicolored strobelights and she finished off her song with a short tap-dance and one of her famous high notes. And then the crowd erupted in applause, including the judges who all looked very pleased.

Cat was giddy when she rushed back stage. She was sweaty and out of breath, but she couldn't have been more happy. Everyone backstage greeted her with praise and congratulations, even Trina. "Wow Valentine, that wasn't bad. You really killed it out there," the older girl said.

"Really? You think so?" Cat asked, in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah in fact you were almost as good as I was. I think you have a real shot at being first runner up."

Cat smiled at the slightly backhanded compliment. She knew that was just Trina's way of complimenting her in her own Trina way, and that she shouldn't be offended by it. "Gee thanks Trina."

"No problem. Well if you need me I'll be in my dressing room, practicing my surprised face for when I get my crown. See you during elimination," Trina said.

"Wait but Tori's about to go on. If you leave now you're gonna miss her perfor-" Cat started, but Trina already had her back turned to her, walking away. "Um, ok then! See you during elimination.." she called out to no one in particular since the girl was already gone.

Cat sighed. She reached into her gym bag and pulled out a water bottle and drank from it. She felt like dumping it all over her face but she knew that would mess up her makeup and she'd have to start it all over from scratch and that wouldn't be good. She took another sip before she heard someone snort and then speak behind her. "Well the delusion sure is strong with that one," the stranger remarked. She turned around and saw it was another girl from the pageant who she'd seen around Hollywood Arts on occasion.

Cat raised an eyebrow. "You mean Trina?"

"Yeah how'd that hack get into this school anyway?"

Cat just shrugged. "It's kind of a long story..."

The girl stepped closer to Cat. "Well you on the other hand were really great."

Cat smiled. Even though she knew she could be a bit ditzy in the head sometimes and that most people thought she was weird, she liked that her talent was the one thing that gained her respect amongst her peers. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. I'd say you were a shoe-in for the crown if it weren't for little miss perfect out there," she said, nodding towards the stage where Tori was standing under a spotlight about to begin her performance.

Cat paused. "You mean Tori?"

"Well yeah who else? Of course Tori's gonna win."

Cat was confused. Tori didn't even care about the pageant and she didn't even want to win. The only reason she was doing it was to support Cat. "But Tori's not even trying to win...you see she didn't even want to do the pageant in the first place," she explained.

"Cat, some people don't have to try. They just get everything handed to them. Think about it...Why do you think Tori wins all of the singing competitions and gets all of the lead parts in the school plays when her singing and acting abilities are average at best?"

"Tori's a really good singer..." Cat said in defense of her friend.

The girl smirked. "Not as good as she thinks she is. The only reason she's gotten so far is because she's pretty. And because she's got the right look. Shiny hair...high cheekbones...and most importantly she's thin. She's got all the right qualities for making it in Hollywood."

Cat frowned. If Tori supposedly had all those qualities was she trying to say that Cat didn't?

"You'll see what I'm talking about soon enough. Hollywood is a cold, shallow place, and this school is just preparing us for it. The sooner you learn how it works the better it is for you," she said in a slightly positive sounding tone. It almost sounded like it was meant to be uplifting, but it made Cat feel lousy.

That lousy feeling didn't go away, even after the girl had left her alone. Cat had been in pageants before and she knew that sometimes girls would play tricks on each other or say mean things to try to psych out their competition. She knew that the girl was probably just trying to mess with her head to get her to mess up during the next round. She tried not to let everything she'd said get to her.

But when she took a peek out onto the stage she saw the crowd cheering just as loudly for Tori as they were for her...maybe she was imagining it, but it almost seemed like they were cheering even more for Tori. She felt something foreign bubbling in her gut. Cat had never been jealous of her friends before so it was a weird feeling for her. She was always happy for them no matter what and she always wanted them to do well. But now for some reason she really didn't want Tori to win the pageant. She didn't want everything that girl had said to be true.

When Tori finished performing and all the girls met up backstage to wait for elimination round, Cat was quieter than usual. When she congratulated Tori on doing so well she felt kind of guilty because she wasn't entirely being sincere. Afterwards she went off into a corner by herself to try to practice pageant answers again, until everyone was called back to the stage.

Sikowitz, in his odd purple tuxedo, welcomed all the contestants back to the stage and began his speech. "Welcome back girls. Unfortunately now it's time for the dreaded elimination round...That's right, now we're about to find out which girls will be moving on to the next round, and which ones will be going home. With that being said, I ask the following girls to please step forward..." The teacher paused for dramatic effect, clearing his throat before continuing. "...Patricia Wilkins, Trina Vega and Jade West." The three girls stepped forward. Patricia Wilkins was a mousy ginger-haired girl who'd made the mistake of choosing juggling as her special talent. During her performance she'd let her nerves get the best of her and she accidentally flung one of her bowling pins into the audience, almost knocking out one of the judges who'd luckily managed to duck in time. She seemed to be taking her loss in stride as she pretty much expected it to happen after that. Jade also seemed satisfied with the fact that she was losing. Trina on the other hand didn't seem to get that she was being called forward because she was being eliminated, so she kept the smile plastered on her face the whole time as if she was about to be crowned. Cat could hear Tori sighing beside her, probably cringing at her sibling's delusion and soon-to-be disappointment. She already knew she'd never hear the end of it once they got home. "Patricia...while you were a delight to have in the pageant, unfortunately you almost inflicted bodily harm on one of our judges, which is typically frowned upon in the pageant circuit."

The orange-haired girl blushed, before taking the mic from Sikowitz. "S-sorry about that. I suppose I need to work on keeping my grip when I juggle..." She handed the mic back and ran off the stage awkwardly.

Sikowitz turned to Jade. "And Jade...That performance was equal parts disturbing and gross. In fact you violated several of the rules in our school's code of conduct and Principal Dubois asked me to give you this detention slip for tomorrow afternoon."

Sikowitz handed her the paper and the goth girl just looked at it and shrugged. "Fair enough," she said, and she walked off stage unfazed.

"And lastly...Trina Vega." Sikowitz sighed deeply at the smile the loud girl kept plastered on her face as if she was waiting for good news. "I'm the reason you got into this school so a part of me feels responsible for your failure."

Trina's smile fell. "Wait what are you talking about? Are you saying I'm eliminated?"

"Please don't make this any harder than it has to be..."

Trina was silent for a few agonizing moments while everyone anticipated the outburst that was about to occur. Then, just as expected, she growled out a scream in frustration at the balding teacher. Sikowitz flinched and stepped back but unfortunately he couldn't get away fast enough. Cat gasped and covered her mouth as Trina ripped out of her dress whatever rubber objects she'd used to stuff her bra and shoved them down the teacher's shirt. Then she stormed off the stage loudly while everyone watched in horror. Tori looked especially mortified that her sister had just attacked her teacher.

Sikowitz smoothed out his shirt and composed himself. He cleared his throat to get everyone to stop whispering. "Well now that that's over...Tori Vega, Michelle Finster and Cat Valentine...you three are our finalists."

Everyone slowly began to clap. The three girls smiled somewhat awkwardly at the scattered applause they received, as everyone tried to recover from the awkwardness of the moment that just happened. Afterwards Sikowitz said a few more words and then they were given permission to go backstage and get ready for the Q&A portion.

At that point Cat's nervousness began to really sink in. Tori, who didn't seem to be worried at all, could tell something was up with her. She approached the short girl who'd taken to pacing the floor and biting her nails. "Hey Cat are you alright?"

She paused. "Yeah I'm fine. Why?"

"Well you've been really quiet. You haven't said anything since Sikowitz announced we made it to the final round. Aren't you happy?"

"Oh yeah. Of course," Cat said, faking a smile. But her voice didn't sound very convincing. But she couldn't just tell Tori she was worried that she was gonna beat her in the pageant. That would make her sound like a bad friend. "I'm just trying to practice my answers in my head. That's all."

"Well why don't I help you?"

"No that's okay," she said quickly. "I've got it."

Tori paused. "You sure?" Cat nodded, avoiding her eyes."Okay then...I guess I'd better go check on Trina."

Cat nodded, relieved when she finally walked away. But after she left Cat couldn't help but feel a little guilty for lying and being so short with her. But she needed time to clear her mind and she knew Tori being around would just distract her even more. All she'd be able to think about was how Tori was probably gonna do way better at answering her question than she was.

Cat went back to pacing the floor, which was helping her nerves a little bit.. To everyone else it probably looked like she was on the verge of having a breakdown, but that wasn't exactly out of the ordinary for Cat so no one really paid her any attention. At one point, out of the blue she felt someone behind her touch her arm. She jumped and turned around quickly, but relaxed when she saw that it was just Beck. She sighed. "Jesus Beck, you scared me."

The dark-haired boy smiled. "Hey. Sorry I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"What are you doing back here?"

"Well I was getting ready to leave. Jade says she's over the whole pageant thing and she's ready to go. And my boyfriendly duties say I gotta go where she goes so...I just wanted to come back stage and wish you and Tori good luck."

"Oh thanks. Tori went off to go find Trina but I'll tell her you came by."

"Okay cool. And um...are you doing okay? You look like you're a little anxious."

Cat's eyes widened. " _Me?_ Anxious? Pshhtt...no way."

"No?" Beck smiled. "You know what you're right...what am I thinking?"

"I'm just super excited about the next round of the pageant is all. I can't wait to get back out there on stage.. Really I'm not nervous at all."

"Good...because you have no reason to be." He stepped forward and placed a calming hand on his friend's shoulder. After being friends with her for years, Beck knew how to get her to relax. He grabbed both of her shoulders lightly, and told her in a firm voice, "You're gonna do great Cat. You have nothing to worry about. Okay?"

Cat sighed and nodded. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she was always grateful that Beck was always able to tell when she was pretending to be okay, and when she needed reassuring. He always knew the right thing to say. "Thanks."

"No problem." He gave her a half-hug and pecked the top of her head. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

Cat smiled at him and nodded, then she watched him leave. She felt slightly better. Still nervous but slightly more calm. Talking to Beck tended to have that effect on her. He was the most laid-back, level-headed person she knew; the complete opposite of herself.

Cat sat down in front of her mirror to look at herself one more time before she went back out on stage. She was up first and she knew they'd be calling her out any minute. Before when she'd look at herself she thought she looked fine, but now she was starting to get paranoid. Had she caked on too much foundation? Maybe she needed a bit more eyeliner... Did the dress she'd chosen for this round make her look fat?

She didn't get much more time to dwell on it because right as she reached for her makeup kit, Sikowitz was already calling her out to the stage. Cat stood up and braced herself for what she hoped wouldn't end up being a complete disaster.

She took a deep breath and walked out to the stage, where suddenly the lights were too hot and the crowd was too big. Sikowitz gave her a big welcoming smile, but she could barely focus on any of the words he was saying. But luckily she managed to realize when it was her turn to speak, smile and nod pretty.

"Okay Cat are you ready for your question?" Sikowitz asked.

Cat nodded and forced herself to smile. She brought her mic to her lips and said, "As ready as I'll ever be!"

Sikowitz smiled back and began reading from his place card. "Alright Miss Valentine. Your question is...'In your own words, what do you think the true meaning of beauty is?"

Cat froze for a brief second as her mind went completely blank. But luckily she had been coached for pageants before and she knew what to do in a situation where you didn't know right away how to respond to a question. The first thing you do is stall for as long as you can. And while you're stalling, try to think of a personal anecdote that relates to the topic of the question. "Well Mr. Sikowitz, that is a very good question that I have many thoughts about..."

Sikowitz nodded."I see...and what would those thoughts be?"

Cat tried her best to at least sound confident, and not like the nervous wreck she truly was. "Well...when I think of true beauty the first thing I think of is..." She really was at a loss for what to say, until she looked out into the audience and saw that the answer was right there, standing in the back of the auditorium. "...my mom."

Her mother had just entered the building, dragging her brother along who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. But Cat was happy to see both of them. And suddenly she knew exactly what to say.

"You see my mom was a famous supermodel in the 80s, and she used to travel all around the world to places like New York, London, Paris, and Milan. And she'd do photoshoots and TV commercials, and walk runways for all the major fashion designers. One magazine even named her the most beautiful woman in the world..." Even from way back in the audience, Cat could tell her mother was smiling at the words she was saying. "And while anyone who looks at my mom would probably agree with that statement, that's not the reason why I think she's beautiful. As her daughter I've seen firsthand the sacrifices she's willingly made for the people she loves: she had a great career that gave her fame and fortune and the opportunity to see the world, but she gave all of that up just so that she could take care of me and my brother and give us the best life possible. And I will forever be grateful to her for that. To answer your question Mr. Sikowitz, I don't think that true beauty is about our outward appearance at all... I think it's about our actions and the things we do for others. Selflessness, loyalty, and unconditional love….those things are beautiful to me, and I think if more people were like my mother the world would be a much prettier place..." She paused to let everyone know she was finished speaking.

Following a brief five seconds of silence, Sikowitz started clapping and the audience followed suit. "Well that was just lovely. Wonderful response. Thank you Cat." Sikowitz said.

Cat smiled, partly in due to gratitude that it was over and that she'd gotten through it, and partly because it seemed like she'd done a fairly decent job. Everyone in the audience seemed to like her response and the judges seemed to like it too.

Even though Cat may have slightly embellished a bit...yes her mom had been a famous model in the 80s, but the truth was she deeply regretted giving up her career to be a housewife, and she never missed an opportunity to blame giving birth to Cat and her brother for ruining her once-perfect supermodel body. But Cat figured it didn't matter as long as the judges bought it and thankfully they appeared to. Suddenly she didn't feel quite as pessimistic and anxious as she'd felt about her performance in the pageant before. She started to think that maybe she did have a good chance of winning. She'd done well in all of the most important rounds and she'd probably worked the hardest out of everyone. And most importantly she hadn't let what that mean girl said to her psych her out. Now all she had left to do was sit backstage and wait patiently for this round to be over so Sikowitz could call her back out onstage and announce who would be getting the crown…


	4. Chapter 4

After the ceremony had ended, Cat went home sullen. She anticipated locking herself in her room for the next few days, and crying alone surrounded by her many stuffed animals, who despite their bright colors and happy faces, would do nothing to cheer her up. At the end of the ceremony Sikowitz had announced that Tori was the new Miss Hollywood Arts and Cat was the first runner up. Cat almost wished she hadn't done so well in the question and answer round because she'd let herself get her hopes up after that. She'd done her best to appear to be happy for her friend while she was being crowned, and Tori seemed genuinely shocked that she had actually won. Like any good friend would, Cat had smiled and clapped along with the audience, and she'd at least waited until she got home before she let herself cry. Her mom had tried to console her on the car ride home but it was to no avail. She just kept running through everything in her mind and trying to figure out what she had done wrong. Or more importantly, what Tori had done that was so much better than her.

As soon as she arrived home she ran upstairs and collapsed onto her pillow and started sobbing. She hadn't bothered with taking off her makeup so by the time her mom came in to check on her, her face was a smudged up mess. The older woman entered the room and sighed at the sight of her daughter with dark streaks of eyeliner and mascara running from her eyes. "Come on sweetheart. Let's go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up." Cat sniffled but stood up and took her mom's hand to follow her to the bathroom.

The young girl sat on top of the toilet while her mom dampened a washcloth and gently began washing her face with it, and for Cat it was oddly soothing. Though she had always been prone to breakdowns, for the most part she was always able to take care of herself and usually it was her brother who got the special attention from their mother like this. Sometimes Cat missed it.

"You know you did great in the pageant tonight honey," her mom told her.

"How would you know? You weren't even there for most of it," Cat muttered, realizing she sounded slightly bitter.

"I know because you're my daughter and you're amazingly talented. Your father and I wouldn't have gotten you all those singing and dancing lessons when you were younger if we didn't think it was gonna pay off in the future. Plus you came in second place, which isn't an easy thing to do."

"It's not as good as coming in first place…"Cat pouted.

"Well you can't win em all pumpkin." Cat sighed. She realized this but she really wanted to win this one. Not just because of how hard she worked but, though she hated to admit this, mostly because of what that mean girl had said to her backstage.

"Mom... do you think Tori won because she's prettier than me?" she asked. Though Cat knew that any answer her mom gave her would be slightly biased due to the fact that she was her daughter, at the same time she knew she could always count her mom to be brutally honest when it counted.

Olivia didn't even hesitate with her answer. "I think you're both beautiful and special in your own way and there are no comparisons to be made between the two of you."

"But if I want to be famous I have to look more like Tori right?"

"I'm gonna tell you something that I've learned from experience. If you want to be famous or make it anywhere in that industry you're gonna have to learn how to be confident and to love yourself no matter what anyone tells you. You're gonna need to develop much thicker skin."

Cat knew her mom was probably right, but none of this was making her feel better. It was easy to be confident and have thick skin when you used to be a supermodel and you had looks like her mother did. She stared at the floor and notably avoided looking at the mirror when her mom was done wiping her face clean. She had managed to stop crying for the short time they'd spent in the bathroom but she knew any moment now the tears would start again. Cat's mom knew this too if past experience was anything to go by so she just sent Cat to her room to let her wait it out.

This time it took Cat three days to stop crying. The last time she'd spent this much time crying in her room was when her parents made her give away her pet bunny because her brother kept trying to put it in the microwave. This time by day three her mother put her foot down and told her that being sad wasn't a valid reason to miss school and on Monday she would have to show up whether she wanted to or not.

The first day back was the hardest. She managed to avoid having to talk about the pageant for most of the day by keeping to herself and focusing on her schoolwork. But then it came time for lunch when she knew she'd have to face her friends for the first time after losing the pageant. When she approached their usual lunch table everyone was already sitting down and Cat could hear them already talking about the pageant. "Yeah after the pageant she just walked up to me and told me she was with some fancy modeling agency and handed me her card. My mom and I looked it up online last night and apparently it's legit," Tori was saying.

"Wow. That's pretty cool. Congrats," Andre said.

"Thanks. I know," Tori said, smiling.

But when they noticed Cat approaching the table everyone got awkwardly quiet. Andre pretended to be preoccupied with mashing up his potatoes with his fork.

"Hey guys…"Cat said.

"Oh hey Cat!" Tori said, with a bit too much enthusiasm.

"What's up #2?" Rex said.

Cat frowned.

"Rex!" Robbie turned to his puppet to admonish him for being insensitive. But the redhead just ignored him.

"What were you guys talking about?" Cat asked.

"Oh just nothing…" Tori said awkwardly.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Tori got offered a stupid modeling contract by some fancy talent scout after the pageant last night."

Cat paused. "...Wow. Really?"

Tori narrowed her eyes at Jade, then turned back to Cat. "Well not exactly. She just invited me to come down and do some test shots, and if that goes well then maybe I'll get a contract. Who knows? But anyway I don't even know if I wanna do it. I'm not sure modeling's really my thing…"

"Oh come on," Trina said, in one of her rare moments of support for her sister. "You'd be totally great at it. I mean you got pretty lucky that I didn't get _all_ the good looks in our family."

"Thanks Trina…"

"Wow that's great Tori. You must be really excited," Cat said. Even though on the inside she was jealous, she still wished well for her friend and she knew she couldn't hold her success against her. At that moment she'd suddenly reached a strange moment of clarity. She'd begun to realize that she couldn't blame other people for her own failures. The only thing she could do was improve upon herself.

"I am. Thanks Cat," Tori said, smiling.

Cat was beginning to realize more and more that it wasn't Tori's fault she'd lost the pageant last night. It was her own. Suddenly she didn't feel like sitting down and eating lunch with her friends anymore.

"Um I just realized I have to go be somewhere else right now. I'll see you guys in Sikowitz's class," Cat said, turning to leave abruptly before anyone could question her.

But Robbie stood up and ran after her. "Hey Cat wait up!"

The redhead paused and turned around.

"Uh sorry about Rex being so insensitive back there. He's been on a real mean streak lately," he said.

"It's okay. He didn't hurt my feelings," Cat replied.

"Good because there's nothing wrong with coming in second place. I've never been a finalist in anything in my life so I'd say you're pretty lucky."

Cat smiled small at the dorky boy who she knew was just trying to comfort her. "Thanks Robbie. Um, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure. Anything."

She handed him her lunch tray. "I kind of lost my appetite. Could you eat my lunch for me? I don't want it to go to waste."

"Oh...well yeah I guess I can. I'm never one to turn down free food. Are you sure you don't want to eat it?"

She just shook her head.

"Well alright then."

"Thanks Robbie."

"Anytime…" he said, watching her leave, puzzled. Then he looked down at the tray of uneaten food in his hands and shrugged before walking back to their table.

* * *

Cat arrived home that day more determined than ever. Suddenly she'd realized what the solution to her problem was and she knew who would be the best person to help her would be. The only thing was she knew she might have a hard time convincing her to help her. She figured the best thing to do would be to be direct and let her know how serious she was and how important it was to her. She waited until right before her mom started cooking dinner when she was alone in the kitchen. "How was your day today sweet pea?" her mother asked.

"It was fine…" Cat said.

"Have you started your homework yet?"

"Yes. Uh mom I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it honey?"

"I want to go on a diet," Cat stated, with as much conviction as possible.

Her mother paused, then immediately shook her head. "No…absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"It's not healthy for a girl your age to be dieting. If you're not careful you could end up hurting yourself. Besides, your mind is way too fragile-"

"Mom I want to lose weight not kill myself. And that's why I'm telling you, so you can help me."

"I'm sorry sweetheart I just don't think it's a good idea. Anyway, you're beautiful just the way you are. You don't need to lose weight."

Cat sighed. "Mom you're always dieting and exercising and worrying about your weight. Don't you think it's a little hypocritical of you to say that I shouldn't?"

"Sweetheart there are a lot of things that I do that I'd never want you to do. And anyway what kind of mother would I be if I let you believe there was something wrong with you that you needed to change about yourself? I want you to see what I see what I see when I look at you. A beautiful, talented, smart little girl."

"'If there's ever anything you don't like about yourself there's nothing wrong with fixing it to make yourself a little more comfortable'. That's what you said to aunt Susan on the phone last month when she got her fourth nose job," Cat pointed out.

Cat's mom frowned. "Aunt Susan is an adult. You're not."

"Mom please. I promise I'm not gonna go overboard. I just want to be more healthy and get fit...like you. If you help me do this I'd be under your direct supervision. I'll eat whenever and whatever you tell me to."

Her mom sighed. "You really want to do this Caterina?"

"Yes I do. More than anything. Pleaaaaaaaaase mom. Pretty please with cherries and sprinkles on top," she said, lacing her fingers together in front of her face and giving her best sad face.

"And you'll do exactly as I say? No skipping meals or lying about what you ate?"

Cat nodded frantically. "I promise."

"Alright fine. If it's really what you want I'll help you but…."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Cat said, rushing over to give her mother a hug.

"It's not going to be easy. You're gonna have to give up all your favorite foods. Including the sweets you love so much."

Cat nodded. She hadn't really contemplated the part of it that meant giving up sweets. She knew that part was gonna be hard, but she was determined. She was gonna do this and see it through to the end. "So when do we start?"

"Right now," her mom said.

Cat felt her stomach growling. She suddenly remembered she'd skipped lunch earlier today and started to regret it. That likely could have been her last good meal. "Okay umm, so what's for dinner tonight?"

Her mom smiled. "Well your dad and your brother are having spaghetti. With extra meatballs and extra cheese."

Cat swallowed. Her mouth watered at the the thought of it. "And what are _we_ having?"

"Baked chicken with steamed broccoli and steamed carrots."

Cat sighed. This definitely was not going to be easy.

* * *

Cat's mother was serious when she told she'd have to cut out her sweets. That meant no more hiding candy in her bra to snack on during the day in between classes. The only sweets she was allowed to have were fruits or the lightly sweetened yogurts her mom bought for her from the health food store, and she could only have them in the morning for breakfast so she'd have time to work off the extra calories throughout the rest of the day. For lunch her mom packed her salads and low fat trail mix, and for dinner she'd have whatever recipes her mom found on the healthy eating websites she's subscribed to online. Cat quickly learned that dieting was no fun at all and it basically took all of the fun out of eating. She also knew her mom was being extra strict about her diet on purpose, hoping she could get her to quit. She'd overheard her talking to her dad about it and telling him her diet was just a phase and she'd probably be back to eating sweets by the end of the month. But the end of the month came and Cat still hadn't given up on her diet. She even started riding her bike to school everyday to get in some more exercise.

One morning she decided to stop by the health food store on her way to school to pick up a few snacks. She got dressed that morning in what was becoming her new usual style of dress: her black spandex yoga pants, oversized pink sweatshirt and her pink Keds, and she tied her hair back into a bun. She said hello to the cashier, who at this point had gotten to know her by name. She picked up some honey roasted almonds and some sundried fruits, and she put them in her backpack and rode the rest of the way to school.

She stopped outside in Hollywood Arts' parking lot to take off her bike helmet and chain her bike to the bike rack.

"Hey Cat." The redhead heard Beck's voice and turned around to see him getting out of his car.

"Oh hey Beck. What are you doing here?"

The dark-haired boy paused. "Um I go to school here?"

"Oh right. Me too!" Cat said smiling.

Beck gave her a slightly puzzled smile back. "Uh yeah. So you rode your bike to school again? That's five days in a row. You know if you ever need a ride I could always swing by your house and pick you up."

"Oh thanks but I like taking my bike."

"Well I can see why. It is a very nice bike," Beck said, looking at it appreciatively. "It's very… _pink_."

"Thanks." Cat smiled. That's why she loved it so much. Pink was her favorite color. "So where's Jade?"

"Oh she's already inside. She wanted to get here early so she could talk to Sikowitz about a play she's writing." Beck held out his arm to her. "So...would you like to accompany me inside this fine learning establishment?"

Cat giggled and linked her arm with his. "Sure."

The pair walked together into the building, with Cat holding onto Beck's arm the entire time. They stopped in the hallway near Beck's locker where Tori, Jade and Andre were already waiting.

"Hey guys," Beck greeted and Cat waved at their friends.

"Well don't you two look cozy..." Tori remarked when the pair approached them.

Cat raised her eyebrows.

"We do?" Beck asked.

"Uh huh," Tori said with a smirk. She turned to Jade to see her reaction but frowned when the dark-haired girl just looked at her blankly. "Wait seriously? No reaction at all?"

Jade rolled her eyes. "What are you on about?"

"Oh come on. If I even look at Beck for too long you accuse me of pushing up on him. Cat walks in hanging all over him and you don't even blink."

"So what?" Jade said.

"So that's totally unfair. Why do you trust Beck with Cat and not me?"

The dark-haired girl scoffed. "Why would I be worried about Beck hanging around with Cat? It's just Cat."

Everyone paused. Cat furrowed her brows. "Wait..what's that supposed to mean?" the red-head asked.

Andre, sensing what was about to be an awkward moment, took that as his cue to leave and slowly started to back away.

"Nothing. Just that you're you," Jade said.

"And... what does that mean?" Cat asked.

"I don't know. That you're not a threat? You're cute and harmless... kinda like a hamster. You could never steal anyone's boyfriend. I mean you can barely fill out a bra."

"A _hamster_?" Cat squeaked. She blushed, crossing her arms to cover her chest.

"Plus you're not even remotely Beck's type…" Jade continued before Beck cut her off.

"Uh Jade could you walk with me to my locker? I need to talk to you about something," he said.

"Wha-?" was all Jade could get out, before Beck grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hall before she could inflict anymore damage.

A moment passed where Tori and Cat just stood in awkward silence, with Tori gazing sympathetically at a frowning Cat.

"Wow Jade can be such a grunch sometimes huh?" Tori said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah…sometimes," Cat mumbled.

"Don't listen to her ok? She doesn't know what she's saying."

Cat just looked at Tori.

"Well we're gonna be late for class so we'd better-"

"I have to pee," Cat said suddenly, walking away.

Cat felt tears prick the back of her eyes as she headed towards the restroom. But she held back and waited until she could hide in the privacy of a bathroom stall before she started to cry. She really loved her friends and usually they made her happy, but sometimes they would say things that were kinda mean that hurt her feelings. Especially Jade. Cat likes to think that they don't do it on purpose. Her whole life she'd always been told that she was too sensitive about things, so over time she learned how not to react when her feelings were hurt. She'd brush things off and laugh and internalize all of her sadness until she was alone. But once she was alone it always hurt just as bad.

But at a certain point she realized she was gonna have to stop crying, and channel all her bad feelings into something productive. Maybe she could just use it as fuel to her fire.

Cat went home that day and spent the rest of her night flipping through magazines. She'd never really had much of a complex about her appearance before. It wasn't until she'd lost the pageant that she started to think maybe she should've lost all her baby fat by now. Maybe she needed to start dressing differently too. And looking at the girls in the magazines just confirmed everything she thought. All of the girls in the magazines were skinny and perfect like Tori. She realized there was a reason girls like that got offered modeling contracts and she didn't.

Cat didn't want to look _exactly_ like Tori...she just wanted to be a better version of herself. She wanted to have that special something that certain girls had that made all the boys want them and all the girls want to be them. She didn't want to be "Just Cat" anymore. She wanted her friends to stop treating her like a joke.

She knew all the things she wanted were going to take time, but the school year would be ending soon and if she had to she'd spend the whole summer trying to reach her goals. She just had to stay focused and keep her eyes on the prize.


	5. Chapter 5

The summer after their junior year of high school was a strange one for the gang at Hollywood Arts. It was the first summer where they all for the most part parted ways and spent time doing their own thing. Tori decided to work with that agent she'd met and give the whole modeling thing a go. That kept her busy for the majority of the summer and even allowed her to save up a nice chunk of change for college. Andre got a job-or rather an unpaid internship-working as a personal assistant to some moderately famous record producer, which would have been cool if he was making real money rather than just being paid in "experience". But apparently he did learn a lot about how cutthroat the music industry could be. Robbie got a summer job working as a camp counselor at a technology camp. And Beck and Jade were the only ones in the group who weren't too busy to spend time together, but that was understandable since they were a couple. They actually spent almost every single day together hanging out and passing time doing nothing in particular.

For Cat the summer was all about change. Cat would be lying if she said that losing the pageant didn't have a significant effect on her decision to make certain lifestyle changes. She changed her eating habits and she changed her look. The strict dieting and exercise plan was hard at first, but once she started seeing results it became addictive. The pounds just started melting off, and she felt more pure and energized than ever. By the end of the summer she had slimmed down completely so that she was toned and fit and all of her baby fat had disappeared. And after the progress she made she decided to reward herself with a whole new wardrobe of clothes to show it off. She also started her own dog walking business to pay for said wardrobe.

The first day back to school from what was an eventful summer for some (and uneventful for others) was highly anticipated. Cat was so excited she'd planned out her first day outfit two weeks in advance. It'd taken her a while to decide on what to wear given she had a whole new wardrobe to choose from, but she eventually decided on a white daisy printed skirt with a matching cropped cami. She spent over an hour on her hair and makeup, but that was becoming routine for her. She styled her hair that day in a wavy blowout brushed to one side, similar to a photo she'd seen of her mother when she was younger. She put on her highest pair of heels and grabbed her backpack and went downstairs where her parents were in the kitchen drinking coffee.

Cat smiled and greeted the two adults. "Good morning mom. Good morning dad."

"Hi sweetie. Are you ready for your first day of your senior year?" her mom asked.

Cat nodded. She wasn't worried at all, though she was kind of sad this would be the last year her and her friends would all be together at the same school. They'd barely seen each other all summer so it seemed like they were already starting to drift apart.

"Do you like my first day of school outfit?" she asked, giving her a twirl.

"You look beautiful Caterina," her mother replied, smiling. But her father looked a bit less pleased.

"Honey don't you think you're gonna be a little cold in that?" her dad asked.

"Daddy it's 80 degrees outside," Cat said. She and her father both looked to Cat's mother for support.

"I think she looks adorable," her mom said, shrugging. "I used to dress that way when I was her age."

Cat smiled. She liked how supportive her mom had gotten of her new makeover. She suspected a lot of it had to do with the fact that she saw so much of her younger self in Cat now.

She walked up to her father and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The older man sighed, realizing that he was outnumbered and clearly not about to win this argument. "Have a great day at school princess."

"Thanks daddy," Cat said. She grabbed her breakfast to-go that morning because she was already running late.

* * *

Cat's first day back was strange at first, but ended up being a good day. The reason why it was so strange was because it seemed like everywhere she went random people she'd never spoken to before were either staring at her or trying to talk to her. It was mostly guys who'd never given her the time of day before that suddenly wanted to know how her summer went. And Robbie was acting strange around her too. Whenever she came around him he'd get all tense and quiet, and if she tried to talk to him he'd just start stuttering or make up an excuse for why he had to leave. Robbie could be weird sometimes but she'd never seen him act this weird before.

The first person she'd seen when she arrived to school was Tori, who'd done some changing of her own over the summer. She'd cut her hair shorter and started going for a more natural look with her makeup, which apparently had a lot to do with bad experiences she'd had in the modeling industry. When they'd first seen each other both girls took turns marveling at each other's appearance.

"Wow Cat you look so different!"

"So do you! You cut your hair!"

"I did! Jeeze you look so pretty...and skinny? How did you lose so much weight?"

Cat shrugged. "I just started exercising and eating better. I got bored with my old look and wanted a change I guess."

"Believe me I totally understand needing a change. Especially after the summer I had."

"What happened?" Cat asked, while simultaneously pulling a compact mirror out of her bag, only to make sure her makeup looked okay before her first class.

"Well the whole modeling thing didn't really work out, but honestly I'm glad it didn't. That whole industry is so fake and appearance-obsessed. It just felt so superficial you know? And that's not how I want to be."

"Yeah I totally get what what you mean," Cat said while rubbing sparkly peach lip gloss over her lips. "Some people can be so superficial."

"Right... and at a certain point you just gotta realize that there's more important things in life you know?"

"Uh-huh." Cat shut her compact mirror and looked up at her friend. "Hey how does my makeup look today?"

Tori looked back at her and sighed, but smiled. "It looks perfect. As always Cat."

Cat smiled. "Thanks Tori. Hey look there's Robbie," she said, as she noticed the skinny boy from a distance walking towards them, puppet in tow. "Hey Robbie!"

"Hey what's up girls?" the curly haired boy greeted casually as he approached them, but then he froze when he looked at Cat. This was the first time they'd seen each other since the end of last school year. "Wow Cat you look uh...different. New clothes?"

"Um yeah..." Cat said, suddenly feeling awkward under his gaze. "Bad different?"

"Of course not! You look great." he said quickly. "Hey that's a nice belly button you got there," he added awkwardly.

Cat smiled, feeling slightly confused. "Um thank you?… So did you have a good summer? How was computer nerd camp?" she asked trying to change the subject.

Robbie just froze, staring at her with his mouth open like he couldn't even hear her talking.

"...Hello? Robbie? Are you listening to me?" she asked.

"What?" The bushy-haired boy asked, cluelessly.

Tori rolled her eyes and grabbed Cat's arm. "C'mon let's get out of here before he starts drooling."

Cat was confused as she walked away with Tori. She knew that Robbie had a little crush on her but he'd never acted this nervous around her before. They'd always been friends and they'd always been able to at least hold a conversation. For the first time she started to wonder if maybe she shouldn't have changed her appearance so drastically. She could admit that she liked some of the attention she was getting from it, but not if it meant people were gonna start treating her differently. Especially not her own friends.

"What was that all about?" Cat wondered out loud.

"You mean Robbie acting totally weird back there? That's not exactly unusual for him…" Tori said.

"But he wouldn't even talk to me."

"Relax okay. Robbie always acts weird whenever he's around a hot girl. He can't help himself," she explained.

'Hot girl' _?_ Cat thought. Was Tori talking about her?

When Cat gave her a weird look Tori just awkwardly looked away like she'd just realized she said something weird. "Uh come on let's just go find our classes."

Cat followed after her, smiling slightly to herself.

* * *

During lunchtime was when the group all met up for the first time to talk about how their summers went. So far Cat, Tori, Robbie and Andre were all seated at their usual table catching up. Jade and Beck were the last ones to arrive and Cat could tell right away that something was off with Beck. He looked agitated and exhausted. Jade on the other hand looked well rested and perfectly fine, though maybe in a slightly bitter mood as well. Her jet black hair now had streaks of red in it that matched her deep red lipstick. Everyone looked up when they approached.

Jade looked at them and groaned. "Do we have to sit here?"

"Yes Jade...these are our friends," Beck said.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Only some of them are," she mumbled.

"Nice to see you too Jade," Tori said, smiling. Jade glared at her.

"Alright so what have we missed," Beck said, clapping his hands together. "Fill us in on everything."

Cat explained, "Tori was just telling us what Trina's been up to since she graduated last year."

Normally none of them would care about Trina's life and what bizarre things she's been up to, but since she'd graduated they were all interested to know. The kids at Hollywood Arts always wanted to know what happened to their graduates after they finished at the performing arts school and whether any of them actually had a chance of making it to the big time. In a weird way it gave them all hope for their own futures, even though most kids ended up going the traditional route of going to college and double majoring in theater along with something else more practical as a backup plan.

Tori explained to them that after graduation Trina was enrolled in some community college classes, mostly just to placate her parents, but aside from that was mostly spending her time doing community theater for free with a bunch of other non-famous people who apparently respected her a lot since her 4 years at Hollywood Arts meant that she was the only one there who technically had any real theater training.

"Well that's pretty pathetic but I guess it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I mean for Trina at least," Jade said, and they all couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"What about you guys? How was your summer?" Tori asked.

"Super exciting. We went to the beach, saw a couple films, hung out in Beck's RV, went to the beach, hung out in Beck's RV, saw some more films...well you get the idea," Jade said, in a bored tone.

Tori raised her eyebrows. "No vacations? Cool summer jobs?"

"Nope," Beck responded, sounding equally unenthused. "Just basically spent our time cooped up together driving each other crazy all summer..."

"Ah...sounds fun," Tori said awkwardly. Everyone could sense a slight tension in the air between Beck and Jade that was only obvious to them because they'd been around them so many times when the couple were fighting.

Andre tried to veer the subject away from whatever was going on between them. "So Cat... How was your summer?"

Cat smiled. She paused eating her packed lunch of celery and hummus. "It was so good! I made so much money walking dogs. It was all my mom's idea. She thought it would be a good way for me to get to play with animals since we're not allowed to have any in the house because my parents are afraid if we do my brother would try to…" Cat trailed off as she was interrupted by the sound of Jade yawning, loudly. She frowned.

Everyone looked at Jade, including Beck who seemed more annoyed than anyone. "Um, Jade…" he said.

"What?"

"Cat was trying to talk... Stop being rude," he said.

Jade just rolled her eyes. "I can't help it if she was boring me. If you're gonna force me to sit here how about you go and get me a coffee so I can at least _try_ to stay awake..."

This was the catalyst that set them off. The whole table just sat quietly and awkwardly watched while the couple went back and forth.

"You've already had your coffee this morning…" Beck reminded her.

"Well I want another one. Two sugars, and no cream this time."

"That's not how you ask for things Jade..."

"Okay how about this? Beck… _please_ get me my coffee right now... or I'm going to scream?"

Beck looked like he wanted to say something else, but in the end decided it wasn't worth it. He just stood up, in defeat. "Fine. Whatever you say your highness. Your wish is my command," he muttered sarcastically, and he walked off.

Once he was gone Jade looked over and realized everyone was staring at her. "What?" she snapped.

Tori, Robbie, Andre and Cat quickly looked away and pretended like they weren't watching that bizarre almost-fight that just happened.

"Uh so Cat...you were saying about your dog-walking thing?" Andre said.

Jade just rolled her eyes and stood up. "When Beck comes back just tell him to meet me at my locker."

"Sure thing…" Tori said.

Once the couple were gone everyone was free talk about them and try to figure out what was going on between them.

"Okay is anyone else really uncomfortable right now?" Robbie asked.

"You're not alone there Shapiro," Tori said. "What the heck was all that about anyway?"

"I guess they're fighting again," Cat said, frowning.

"Ugh I hate being around them when they're fighting. I say we just avoid them until they work it out or break up again," Tori said.

"No guys, they're our friends and we have to help them," Cat said. She couldn't help but feel sympathy for both of them. They looked so miserable. "Someone needs to talk to Jade and someone needs to talk to Beck to figure out what's going on."

Tori, Andre and Robbie all looked away, making it clear that none of them were volunteering.

"Tori?" Cat tried. She knew she could get her to help because she was by nature a bit of a pushover.

The brunette girl groaned. "Alright fine I'll talk to Jade. But I'm not making any promises that I'm gonna get anywhere. Jade doesn't even really like me so…"

Cat smiled. "Great. And I guess I'll just talk to Beck?"

"Good luck with that," Andre said. "Beck gets all moody and shuts down whenever he's fighting with Jade. He probably won't want to talk about it."

That didn't defer Cat at all. She didn't think she'd have any trouble getting Beck to open up to her. Beck was one of her oldest friends and the two of them had an unspoken bond that most of their friends were completely unaware of. She knew how to get him to talk to her.

* * *

Cat's first day of school brought about a new positivity and confidence in her. She liked all of her classes and she got a lot of compliments from people on her outfit. She exited her last class of the day feeling better about herself than she had in awhile. On her way out of the building she paused outside of the auditorium when she saw a flyer for a casting of a new play. She read through the flyer and saw that the play was written by Jake Carter, another senior at their school who was known for being one of the best playwrights at their school, and also for being a bit of a heart throb. She noticed that Beck's name was also listed as co-writer.

"Hi."

Cat jumped, startled that someone had just appeared behind her. She turned around and saw that it was Jake himself. The shaggy blonde-haired, blue-eyed senior was looking at her with curiosity.

"Oh hi…" she said, shyly.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

She smiled. "It's okay."

He stepped closer to her. "I couldn't help but notice you looking at my flyer. Were you thinking of auditioning?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. The description seems interesting."

He grinned. "I know it seems a little vague. I could explain it to you better if you want. How about over lunch tomorrow?"

"Maybe…" Cat said, considering it. She knew he was hitting on her. She smiled at him flirtatiously.

"You really should audition though. You'd be perfect as my leading lady."

"How do you know? You haven't even seen me act yet," she said.

"Let's just say I have a sense for these sorts of things," he said. And he winked at her.

When he walked away, Cat got a weird tingly feeling in her stomach. She recognized it as nerves, mixed with butterflies, mixed with excitement. Her first day of school and she already had a potential lead in a new school play and a boy who was possibly interested in her. This was shaping up to possibly be a good year for her.

* * *

Cat arrived home later that day in high spirits. Which was in high contrast to how her friend Beck was feeling at the moment. When she got home, her mom let her know that Mrs. Haddonfield had called to ask if she could take her dog for a walk that afternoon. The Haddonfields' dog was a tiny, spoiled little maltese poodle who was extremely lazy and hated going on long walks. Every time she took him out, after he did his business he would beg for her to pick him up and carry him for the rest of their walk. But Cat was determined to get him to walk the whole way this time. She had two missions that day.

Her second mission was to get Beck to talk to her. After she made herself a small snack of butterless popcorn, she slipped on her heels, grabbed her to-go bag equipped with everything she needed for her dog-walking trips (small paper bowls, water bottle, plastic baggies, and dog treats), and headed across the street to the Haddonfields'.

She knocked on the elderly couples' door and Mrs. Haddonfield greeted her. "Cat you're just in time! Snowball is all ready for his walk."

The small dog appeared behind her, approaching tentatively. By now he knew that whenever Cat came around he was gonna have to go for a walk so he was always cautious. "I'll bet he is. C'mere boy." Cat knelt down so that she was at his level. She jiggled her bag slightly where she had her treats hidden. Once she did that, Snowball trotted over and started sniffing at her bag. Cat smiled, petted the dog, and she quickly slipped his leash onto his collar. Snowball was the whole reason she started bringing along treats to her walks in the first place.

"Oh he just takes to you so well. We're so lucky to have you Caterina. Thanks again," Mrs. Haddonfield said, smiling adoringly at the two of them.

"It's no problem at all. We'll be back in a few hours," Cat said, smiling sweetly.

"Okay dear!" Mrs. Haddonfield waved them off.

Cat began walking, with Snowball in tow, heading for her next destination. Just as she expected, as soon as Snowball did his business he started whimpering for her to pick him up. Cat sighed. "Just a little bit longer and then you can have a break. We just have to make it to my friend Beck's house okay?"she explained.

The dog whimpered again. She sighed and reached into her bag for a treat, knowing it would get him to hush and stop whining. She knelt down and fed it to him, and the dog happily lapped it up, then resumed walking. It took them about twenty minutes to walk to Beck's house. They would have gotten there sooner if Cat had just picked up Snowball like he'd wanted but she was determined to give him his exercise for the day.

When they finally made it to Beck's house, the dark-haired boy was already outside in his driveway. The hood to his car was propped open and there were tools scattered around the pavement. Beck looked up when she approached and started wiping grease off his hands with a rag. He looked surprised to see her. "Cat?"

"Uh hi Beck."

"Hey... What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh you know I was just in the neighborhood, taking a walk... And then I remembered you lived here..."

They were interrupted by the sound of Snowball whining and pawing at Cat's feet, letting her know he clearly expected her to make good on her promise. Beck smiled, nodding towards the dog. "Friend of yours?"

Cat sighed, picking up the small ball of fluff. "It's my neighbor's dog. And he's very spoiled."

"Oh right you're a dog-walker now. You mentioned that earlier at lunch."

"Yup," Cat said, proudly.

He stepped closer to her, smirking slightly. "That's pretty cool. Although I don't know how you can get much walking done in those shoes," he said, referring to her ridiculously high heels.

Cat just smiled. "Believe me it's taken me years of practice... So what have you been up to?"

"Oh I was just giving my car a quick tune up."

"Do you want some help?" Cat asked.

Beck raised his brows. "Do you know anything about cars?"

"Well no... but Snowball and I could keep you company while you work?" she offered. She half-expected him to say no or turn her away like Andre had warned her he might, but his whole demeanor had completely changed when she arrived. It seemed like he was in a better mood now than he had been earlier when he was fighting with Jade.

"I suppose I could use the moral support," Beck said smiling.

Cat smiled back, sitting down on the curb beside him.

* * *

 **Double update to make up for my long absence :) Thank you to everyone who's followed/reviewed this story so far. I know this isn't a popular pairing but I love them and once I got this idea I couldn't get it out of my head. There is more to come so stay tuned.**


End file.
